Chapter 224: A Kiss
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The cameraman was curious, but the viewers were probably a hundred times more curious than the cameraman.
The camera had started rolling. Li Hanchen was dressed in a white shirt and looked dignified. Mu Sheng was wearing a light-colored knitted sweater which softened her cold aura. The scenery in the background was perfect.
They were looking at each other. Mu Sheng’s cool bright eyes glistened as though there was morning dew in them. Li Hanchen could not help smiling as he looked at her.
The viewers pounced to take screenshots of the sight. This was even more romantic than watching Korean drama!
[Omigod! Are you smiling, Li Hanchen? Tell us why you are smiling? I am dying of curiosity!]
[Oh god. Just look at that smile of his! I will definitely dream of a domineering CEO smiling at me this way tonight. Does Li Hanchen secretly own a company? Otherwise, where did he get this powerful aura from?]
[I was wondering just the same thing… Is Li Hanchen the CEO of a listed company? I think he is the epitome of a domineering CEO straight out of a novel.]
After Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng walked some distance, Ye Zhipei and Chu Rao walked over from nearby.
Mu Sheng was not carrying anything, but Chu Rao had her hands full of tools.
She was dressed in a floral shirt and floral cotton shoes holding a hoe and bamboo basket. If not for her stunning face, no one would have thought it was Chu Rao.
Chu Rao almost wanted to cry when she saw Mu Sheng. “Sheng!”
Chu Rao ran up to Mu Sheng and saw Li Hanchen carrying all the stuff and instantly felt upset.
Just look at how nice Mu Sheng’s partner was! The treatment she got from her partner was worlds apart!
Ye Zhipei finally walked over slowly. Even though they were in the countryside, Ye Zhipei gave off a refined and elegant aura.
“Morning,” greeted Ye Zhipei to Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng.
Mu Sheng nodded at him.
“Sheng, are you going to look for wild vegetables too?” Chu Rao was very sociable. Even though everyone felt Mu Sheng was unapproachable, Chu Rao instinctively felt Mu Sheng had a great personality and naturally wanted to be close to her.
“Maybe?” Mu Sheng did not know either. After all, Li Hanchen had been doing all the work.
Su Ran and Wen Lan came over as they chatted.
Su Ran had probably ticked off Wen Lan again because she seemed angry. Su Ran kept trying to make Wen Lan laugh, but it was futile.
After they said hi to each other, they headed up the mountain.
Chu Rao was the only woman among them carrying all the tools, but she was too shy about asking Mu Sheng and Wen Lan to help. She could only look at Ye Zhipei resentfully, hoping he would grow a conscience and help.
Chu Rao was destined to be disappointed. Ye Zhipei glanced at her with no intention of helping.
Chu Rao gnashed her teeth as she cursed at that stupid man in her heart.
Since most of them were not the talkative type, they proceeded in silence. Only Chu Rao could be heard talking to Mu Sheng and Wen Lan every now and then.
Before long, they were halfway up the mountain.
The small town was surrounded by a lot of produce. Lots of vegetables had started to sprout this season. Bamboo shoots could be seen sprouting through the earth as well.
Li Hanchen placed some newspaper on the ground by the side so that Mu Sheng could take a seat, but Mu Sheng had never dug wild vegetables or bamboo shoots before, so she stayed close to Li Hanchen and watched.
Chu Rao wished she could take a break as well. Sadly, Chu Rao did not dare to sit with Ye Zhipei standing in front of her.
Li Hanchen had a lot of wilderness survival skills. He led Mu Sheng into the forest, pulled aside some weeds, and bamboo shoot sprouts could be seen below.
The bamboo shoots were at their best at this time of the year. With a gentle tug, the bamboo shoot broke off crisply.
Mu Sheng watched curiously. Li Hanchen glanced at her. “Want to give it a try?”
“Okay.” Mu Sheng nodded before taking a small shovel and cautiously digging for bamboo shoots and wild vegetables just like Li Hanchen did.
Chu Rao’s team was digging for produce as well. However, Chu Rao was the one doing the digging while Ye Zhipei watched on.
“Is this edible?” asked Chu Rao as she pointed to an unknown plant at Ye Zhipei.
Ye Zhipei nodded. “Just dig it.”
Chu Rao sneered gently before she started to dig.
When they got to the next plant, Ye Zhipei shook his head, so Chu Rao did not dig it.
In about 30 minutes, Chu Rao’s bamboo basket was already filled with unknown wild vegetables along with some earth stuck at their roots. She honestly already had trouble carrying the basket.
She glanced at Ye Zhipei repeatedly, but he did not react at all. She finally could no longer bear it. “Can’t you help me out here? Can’t you see how thoughtful the other guys are?”
Ye Zhipei glanced at Chu Rao coolly.
Ye Zhipei had every intention of helping Chu Rao with the things on their way out. Unfortunately, Chu Rao happened to see a sticker of Xie Yi stuck on the threshold.
Ye Zhipei instantly looked angry.
The sticker of Xie Yi was stuck in a gap in the door, but she spotted it. She certainly cared about Xie Yi a lot!
Chu Rao felt a little intimidated when Ye Zhipei glanced at her. “Why are you looking at me?”
Ye Zhipei sneered, “There are bamboo shoots over there. Go dig it.”
Chu Rao went speechless. She felt deeply infuriated by Ye Zhipei’s insufferable attitude, but there was nothing she could do about it and could only do as he said.
Mu Sheng did not know any of these plants. She simply dug all the plants resembling vegetables. Li Hanchen said nothing and just left her to it.
“Come over here,” said Li Hanchen to Mu Sheng suddenly.
Mu Sheng walked over. “What?”
Li Hanchen dug a white plant resembling a fishy-smelling herb from the ground. He carefully cleaned it with his handkerchief before handing it to Mu Sheng. “Try it.”
“Isn’t this fishy smelling?” Mu Sheng frowned slightly. She did not like the taste of this vegetable.
“No, it isn’t.” Li Hanchen placed it by her mouth. “Would I ever lie to you?”
Mu Sheng instinctively took a bite. A faint sweet taste spread across her tongue, and Mu Sheng’s eyes gleamed. “It tastes sweet.”
Li Hanchen also smiled. “Do you like it?”
“Uh huh.” Mu Sheng nodded.
The cameraman stood beside them and attempted to film them with a romantic atmosphere.
Someone suddenly shouted. Everyone turned to look and saw Chu Rao falling off a steep slope.
Before anyone had wrapped their minds around it, the typically composed Ye Zhipei lost his cool and clearly looked anxious.
He ran straight towards Chu Rao.
“How are you? Are you okay?” Ye Zhipei’s eyes were filled with worry.
Chu Rao was in so much pain that she failed to detect Ye Zhipei’s concern. She threw the bamboo basket aside. “Leave me alone. I don’t want your help.”
Meanwhile, everyone had encircled them. Mu Sheng walked over to check Chu Rao’s injury. She waved and gestured for Ye Zhipei to give way. “She sprained her ankle. I can help her set it. Can you give way?”
Ye Zhipei automatically gave way. He never knew Mu Sheng was medically trained.
Before he could wrap his mind around it, Mu Sheng had already swiftly turned Chu Rao’s foot.
“Ow!” yelled Chu Rao. Ye Zhipei went over anxiously.
Mu Sheng tapped on Chu Rao’s body twice. “All done. I need to bandage your superficial wounds. Come over to our place so that I can do it.”
Chu Rao tried to place her foot on the ground before she turned to look at Mu Sheng in astonishment. “Wow! This is amazing! It doesn’t hurt anymore!”
The sprain was minor, but Chu Rao was badly bruised. She inhaled in pain even when she stood up.
Ye Zhipei wanted to go over and help her, but he froze when she glared at him and said, “Stay away from me. Don’t touch me.”
The moment she finished her sentence, Chu Rao hobbled down the mountain along with the production crew.
The audience kept scolding Ye Zhipei in the comments.
After all, they had all witnessed Chu Rao’s fall with their own eyes.
Ye Zhipei had ordered Chu Rao to dig bamboo shoots ten minutes ago. The bamboo basket was already almost full, but Chu Rao did as Ye Zhipei said and kept putting more things in it.
Chu Rao was a girl, so she was unable to carry the heavy bamboo basket.
Since she was accustomed to taking Ye Zhipei’s orders, she obediently continued digging for produce.
Chu Rao had trouble carrying the stuff when they encountered a small slope. She wanted Ye Zhipei to help with the bamboo basket, but he showed no intention of helping.
Chu Rao was walking angrily when she carelessly stepped on some weeds thinking it was ground, so she fell squarely.
[I mean really now. I have never seen someone as ungentlemanly as Ye Zhipei. He was too much! How could he treat a girl like this? Although I don’t like Chu Rao, I can’t stand the sight of him.]
[Ye Zhipei looks like a cultured man. How could a refined man act like this? How could he have the cheek to make his partner do the heavy lifting? No real man would have done this.]
[I am Chu Rao’s anti-fan, but I can’t bear to watch either. Who does Ye Zhipei think he is? Does he think he’s the boss?]
Chu Rao jumped on her good leg with great difficulty.
Ye Zhipei walked behind her, looking livid. He finally stepped forward and carried Chu Rao when she nearly stumbled again.
“What do you think you are doing? Let go of me!” Chu Rao felt angry just looking at him. The moment she thought about how poorly he treated her, she felt so angry that her face flushed red.
Ye Zhipei lowered his head as he gritted his teeth and glanced at Chu Rao. “Shut up.”
If it were any other day, Chu Rao would have yielded. However, Chu Rao was exceptionally indignant today and needed to vent some steam.
She struggled in Ye Zhipei’s arms for some time before she said, “Let me go!”
Chu Rao inadvertently aggravated her wounds during the struggle and instantly winced and inhaled deeply in pain.
Ye Zhipei did not know what to do, so he could only put Chu Rao down. The moment she was on the ground, she hit Ye Zhipei. “Leave me alone already! Weren’t you just waiting for me to fall?”
The more Chu Rao spoke, the more indignant she felt.
She thought about how she had been doing everything Ye Zhipei said since the filming started. However, Ye Zhipei ended up mistreating her. Tears welled in Chu Rao’s eyes.
“I hate you. How could you do this to me? Don’t you know I am in pain? My hands still hurt after getting injured when I made deep-fried fritters for you in the morning, but you refused to help me…”
Chu Rao felt resentful and kept scolding Ye Zhipei. Blood was oozing from her arms, but she seemed to have forgotten about them.
Ye Zhipei looked at Chu Rao deeply and said nothing as he watched her quietly.
Moments later, Chu Rao got more carried away and even complained about Ye Zhipei’s past crimes. He suddenly lowered his head and kissed Chu Rao on her lips.
Chu Rao was halfway through complaining when a warm damp kiss suddenly landed on her lips, and Ye Zhipei’s handsome face came up right in front of her.
Chu Rao felt as though someone had struck her on her meridians and was unable to move.
Ye Zhipei only kissed her gently before he straightened his back. Chu Rao had frozen completely as he carried her off.
Chu Rao was incapable of processing anything and simply let Ye Zhipei carry her away.
No one could blame Chu Rao for this strong reaction. Even Mu Sheng was stunned by the sight. She turned to look at Li Hanchen. “Did Prof Ye just kiss Chu Rao?”
Li Hanchen looked at Ye Zhipei before turning to look at Mu Sheng. “Yes, he did.”
“Are they dating?” Mu Sheng was a little confused. She had seen this in television dramas before. Weren’t only couples or people who are married allowed to kiss?
Li Hanchen lowered his eyes. “Perhaps Prof Ye simply wanted to distract Chu Rao. See? Didn’t she end up keeping quiet?”
Mu Sheng looked at Chu Rao and noticed she was quiet before she pondered.
News about this blew up online. The topic promptly became the top search on social media. There were so many people trying to watch the show online that the system nearly hung.
Initially, everyone felt furious when they heard this. After all, Ye Zhipei had a flawless image, but Chu Rao was always in trouble.
It so happened that the cameraman was very experienced at filming romance dramas.
He was very good at capturing romantic scenes and happened to have Ye Zhipei kissing Chu Rao on camera.
They were walking under a peach tree. There was a gentle breeze in the air and pink petals were fluttering down from overhead.
Ye Zhipei bent over slightly and kissed Chu Rao on her cheek. Chu Rao opened her eyes in astonishment and looked at him with her limpid eyes.
[Oh god! Are you sure the show didn’t plan for this? Don’t they have nothing in common at all?]
[I am stunned. I always loved Ye Zhipei, but I never dreamt he would have anything to do with Chu Rao, let alone kiss her.]
[I think I am dreaming. I know it is common for shows to use guests to create hype, but isn’t this a little overboard?]
Meanwhile, in the small town.
Ye Zhipei carried Chu Rao back to the compound. However, even after Mu Sheng had tended to her wounds, Chu Rao did not react.
After Mu Sheng told them what to watch out for, she left. Ye Zhipei snapped his fingers at Chu Rao. “What’s on your mind?”
Chu Rao glanced at Ye Zhipei. “Did you do that on purpose?”
The stupid man was deliberately trying to ruin her career!
Ye Zhipei glanced at Chu Rao and instantly knew what she was thinking. He flicked her forehead. “You stupid girl.”
Chu Rao frowned as she scratched her forehead. “What do you mean?”
Ye Zhipei glanced at her. “I am saying you are so stupid.”
Chu Rao gritted her teeth. She wanted to take a bite off him. Sadly, it was impossible for her to overpower Ye Zhipei in terms of strength.
By now, the viewers were hooked to the program. Now that news about Ye Zhipei kissing Chu Rao hit the news, the program became the hottest topic in the entertainment industry.
All the viewers wanted to know how the program would play out.
However, the show’s official social media account suddenly announced that they would finish filming the first episode tomorrow.
The viewers exploded when they heard the news. How could they do this?
The film crew found the director’s decision unfathomable. After all, this was never done in the history of the program.
The director touched his non-existent beard as he said, “You don’t get it.”
Considering the success of the program, the director undoubtedly had a keen eye.
The director was certain something was up with the guests.
He had a nagging feeling that he had inadvertently chosen guests with a lot of potentials.
Since he was a director, he was very sensitive towards human emotion. He could see there was something going on between the guests.
They might be able to put on an act, but there was no way to conceal the look in their eyes and the director knew this full well.
It might be impossible to show it on film in the short term, but if he filmed them again after a short break, he might get the effect he wanted.
Moreover, Chu Rao was badly hurt, so the director didn’t have the heart to make her continue filming.
Although the film crew did not quite understand why the director decided to do this, he called the shots, so they could only stop filming.
Mu Sheng was also notified that the episode would end tomorrow. She glanced at the bamboo basket full of wild vegetables and bamboo shoots and was dying to try cooking them. “Since we are leaving tomorrow, let me try cooking tonight.”
“Sure.” Li Hanchen nodded. The instant he heard Mu Sheng wanted to try cooking tonight, his voice briefly froze thinking about her cooking abilities.
Mu Sheng had an excellent memory. She had studied a lot of recipe books when they were home, and she wanted to try cooking following the steps in her mind.
She mimicked Li Hanchen and kneaded some dough before mixing the wild vegetables with meat to make some filling.
Li Hanchen watched as Mu Sheng kept adding salt into the filling, and his expression instantly went stiff.
[Hahahaha! For the first time, Li Hanchen lost his cool. This is killing me.]
[Does Mu Sheng have some vendetta against Li Hanchen? Is she planning on poisoning him?]
[What has Li Hanchen done to deserve such punishment? Mu Sheng, if you have a grudge against him, you can take it out on me!]
After working for an hour, Mu Sheng finally finished preparing dinner.
In comparison to the delicious food that Li Hanchen had cooked previously, even her biggest fans were incapable of singing any praise.
The dumplings were filled with charred meat and bamboo shoots blackened from stir-frying.
Mu Sheng felt embarrassed by her cooking. From the looks of it, she was not cut out for cooking.
Li Hanchen did not say no to the food. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and tried every dish she made.
“Is it bad?” asked Mu Sheng cautiously.
Li Hanchen swallowed the vegetables. “It’s okay.”
“Let me try.” Mu Sheng sat down to try her cooking but Li Hanchen stopped her.
“There are some leftovers from lunch. Why don’t you help finish that? I can eat this for dinner,” said Li Hanchen before putting all the food into his bowl.
[I have to say, something is really going on between them. Is this love I see in the air?]
[I feel like vomiting just looking at the food Mu Sheng prepared. Li Hanchen must like her a lot to eat everything she made.]
[Li Hanchen has worked so hard. He made everything Mu Sheng wanted to eat, but she ended up poisoning him. How could she do it?]
Li Hanchen gradually finished Mu Sheng’s cooking.
He cleaned up after eating dinner. Meanwhile, Mu Sheng had already retired to her room.
Li Hanchen poured some water and wanted to go upstairs when he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his chest.
He pulled up a chair with great difficulty and sat down and waited for the pain to pass.
Since he had been living healthily recently, he almost forgot he was terminally sick.
Li Hanchen had forgotten to take his medication today, so he reached his hand out to take his medication, but the bottle was already empty.
Mu Sheng was probably asleep, so Li Hanchen did not want to disturb her.
In his experience, this pain would pass.
However, Li Hanchen unexpectedly ended up suffering from excruciating pain in his chest and large swathes of redness and swelling also emerged on his body.
He wanted to speak, but he was in such excruciating pain that it was impossible for him to breathe, let alone speak.
Mu Sheng had already gone to bed. She suddenly felt thirsty and went downstairs with a cup. The moment she got downstairs, she saw Li Hanchen sitting on the couch.
Mu Sheng hurriedly walked over. “What’s wrong?”
She reached her hand out and examined his pulse. “What are you allergic to?”
Mu Sheng thought about the food they had for dinner. There was a lot of swelling and redness on Li Hanchen’s body, so he must be showing an allergic reaction to something.
“Come upstairs. I will help you,” said Mu Sheng as she pulled Li Hanchen upstairs. Fortunately, Mu Sheng was in the habit of traveling with her silver needles.
In the short distance that he walked, the swelling on his body became incredibly itchy. Li Hanchen wanted to scratch his body badly but suppressed the urge with his sheer willpower.
Mu Sheng knew he must be in great agony, so she swiftly applied acupuncture to him.
It turned out to be more complicated than Mu Sheng expected. Li Hanchen was already sick, but now he was suffering from allergies as well. The treatment took far longer than usual, and he was in such agony that his eyes turned bloodshot.
Regardless of Li Hanchen’s remarkable willpower, there was nothing he could do to stop his body’s instinctive reaction. His muscles constricted, making it impossible for Mu Sheng to access the right acupuncture points and apply the silver needles.
Now, she had to find some way to distract Li Hanchen.
A thought suddenly crossed Mu Sheng’s mind before she said to him, “Li Hanchen.”
Li Hanchen opened his bloodshot eyes. “Yes…”
Before he finished his sentence, Li Hanchen could sense something warm by the corner of his lips…